My mom needs a new computer, she and I are willing to build.

[Swat 3]

It would actually be better just to reuse the case of the current computer.

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[Pecon]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hvzt99

this is from all of the cheapest parts on pcpartpicker

I'm sorry, but this build is dumb.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mc3rRB

A very cheap one that is ~$250 in total with parts not including the OS and without a GPU ($300 if you don't count the mail in rebates)

Feel free to improve it/ tell me where I forgeted up majorly.

EDIT: forget forgot a DVD writer/player: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dKCNxr

This build is good, but you probably should aim more towards the budget limit.

Would you be okay with sacrificing a lot of storage space on the computer for an SSD drive? This will make the computer a lot faster. I'm not even kidding, it's really significant. The drawback is that the price per gigabyte is a lot higher than on standard hard drives, and would probably mean that you have to settle for a drive with ~100 gigabytes or less.

[blockguy™]

i like to look at peoples budgets and use it not including a case. psu. or a copy of windows.

400 would still be very very tight lol

the most hardcore of pc users dont use a case

[Bisjac]

if it werent for the fact that i haul my rig around so much i just as well may not even use a case.
they dont serve much purpose otheŕ then dust traps or fan mounts.
but my comp dosnt even need fans xd

[QuadStorm]

I'm sorry, but this build is dumb.
This build is good, but you probably should aim more towards the budget limit.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HqY3gs

Now it has 8 gb of RAM and 2 tb hard drive at a base total of ~450 but a final total with mail in rebates of $393

You could probably swap the pentium with a AMD equivalent or something, but everything else seems alright to me.

[ShadowsfeaR]

A $400 build for your mother is VERY easy. People say its tight but it really isnt, at all. They shouldn't be trying to make a gaming machine. It just needs to be fast and efficient home office PC. You don't need a damn GPU lol.

[Bisjac]

i would still try to have 8g rams and quad anything cpu. as bare minimum

[blockguy™]

I'm sorry, but this build is dumb.

i intended it to be dumb

[Starkiller]

if it werent for the fact that i haul my rig around so much i just as well may not even use a case.
they dont serve much purpose otheŕ then dust traps or fan mounts.
but my comp dosnt even need fans xd

well it protects the parts from water damage and things falling on the part

[Pecon]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kBQpzy

This would only work assuming a few things:
1: You can salvage an old computer case. (Otherwise add $30 to buy an OK one)
2: You're okay with an SSD with 60GB of storage (Otherwise add $30 to replace with a standard 1GB hard disk drive, this will slow it down tremendously)
3: You are willing to either use a free operating system (Linux, BSD) OR you have $5 - $10 and are willing to buy Windows through /r/softwareswap (Otherwise add $100 for standard Windows purchase, I seriously recommend the softwareswap idea though. I'll guide you through it if you want, it's perfectly legal.)

Guaranteed super fast machine for anything other than games, but it should still run most games pretty well.

[ShadowsfeaR]

We're building for a mom, not a potential gamer.


MOBO $57.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130741

CPU $59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113282

4GB RAM $44.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231394

Case $22.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094

PSU $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049

1TB HDD $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Optical Drive $19.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Win7 $99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416806


Its about $457.92 $410.92 now, but it includes a case and Win 7. Its farrr under 400 if you don't use Win 7, but I think Windows is probably what your mother is used to. I might still revise this list to go even cheaper, the biggest pieces being the mobo and CPU.

[Pecon]

We're building for a mom, not a potential gamer.

She wants it to be fast

My build is optimal for achieving maximum performance in starting the computer, opening programs, and running cpu intensive tasks. This seems optimal for what she wants to do, and I achieved it within their $400 range. I don't see the issue.

[ShadowsfeaR]

Mom's like his don't use DAWs or render videos or play visually intensive games. They browse the internet, watch videos on YouTube, and do taxes. What you consider blazing fast is absolutely overkill for her needs. Fast for her would mean being able to click the Chrome button and it appear immediately. You don't need an SSD for what she does. Hell, I think 1TB might actually be overkill too, but I don't know if she stores a lot of pictures or videos, so I'm waning on the safe side.

[Pecon]

Mom's like his don't use DAWs or render videos or play visually intensive games. They browse the internet, watch videos on YouTube, and do taxes. What you consider blazing fast is absolutely overkill for her needs. Fast for her would mean being able to click the Chrome button and it appear immediately.

... That is literally what I just said it focuses on.

It relies on the CPU's integrated graphics chip for video performance, meaning that none of the money has been used exclusively on video performance. Video performance would be one of the larger factors when you want good game/video rendering performance.

We want the SSD because she can start the computer from a full power-down and have it ready in 20 seconds. I most "mom" types tend to get aggravated by their computer taking more than 80 seconds to start.

[ShadowsfeaR]

You don't need a $200 CPU to do what his mom's gonna do. My point is most of these builds have extremely excessive costs for luxuries she wont even use.